ATARAXIE | PROJECT X

If you think that you have heard of the town of Rouen in France but cannot quite figure out where, it is the capital city of Normandy and one of the worlds most prosperous Medieval towns! A Town of such history, going back all the way to the dark ages is then the perfect setting for a Funeral Doom Metal band of Ataraxie’s standing, and so for the last twelve years the band have churned out epic sounding depressive Doom at a fairly moderate pace! After all those years though the band decided that 2011 was the right time to release a compilation album, two discs of the very best that Ataraxie have to offer, and here it is in the form of “Project X”.

Starting with the slow mournful tones of “The Other Path” from the bands first demo back in 2003, Ataraxie then go forward and treat their audience to the murky delights of “My Last Breath” from the same demo. Indeed the first seven tracks are all from the “Other Path” demo, fresh, clear and crisp and all present in their Doom ridden unholy majestic goodness. Completing disc one is “From Agony to Eternity” to give the bands die hard fans a real treat of their earlier work, heavy, dripping with groove and extremely dark and oppressive!

If you slip on disco two you’ll be in for more of a treat as this is the previously unreleased disc, featuring “A Jamais” as well as five other live tracks including “L’Ataraxie” and “Anhedonie”. “A Jamais” starts slowly and delicately, but builds into a crescendo of bludgeoning Doom Meta heaviness, a solid slab of hostility in musical form. “Project X” then is a perfect new addition to the collection of long standing fans, especially for the excellent live and unreleased tracks, and for those new to the scene, this is how Funeral Doom is mean to be played, loud, as fast as treacle running down a not so pliable material, and extremely depressive! [8/10 – LUKE HAYHURST]